Amino acid residues 56 to 69 of HLA-A2 specify an antigenic determinant shared by HLA-A2 and HLA-B17.

The mouse monoclonal antibody MA2.1 was previously used to define an epitope shared by native HLA-A2 and HLA-B17 molecules and amino acid sequence comparison of nine HLA-A,B,C molecules identified residues 62 to 65 as the region most likely to form this epitope. An unabsorbed rabbit antiserum raised against a peptide corresponding to residues 56 to 69 of HLA-A2 gives highly specific reactions with HLA-A2 and HLA-B17 heavy chains in Western blots. No interactions with native HLA-A2 and B17 molecules were detected in a variety of assays. Although the topographic relationship between the epitopes recognized by the rabbit antiserum and the monoclonal antibody could not be determined, the results show that residues 56 to 69 of HLA-A2 can form epitopes with specificity for HLA-A2 and HLA-B17.